WOMAN SHOT HER BLIND HUSBAND AS HE SLEPT

Following a peaceful family dinner, Dale Vella focused a loaded gun on her sleeping partner's eye - and pulled the trigger

- GAIL SHORTLAND

The rural property tucked behind tall pine trees in Murrumbateman in New South Wales was the home of Dale and Mark Vella. Their 22-year-old daughter, Georgia, lived in a converted stable block nearby. Dale, 54, and Mark had been married for 23 years. A degenerative eye condition had left 52-year-old Mark legally blind, although he could see well enough to work as a farmer.

Life hadn't been easy for the pair, who had struggled with finances over the years. They had lost a daughter to brain cancer when she was only three, and Dale had undergone a double mastectomy and chemotherapy after developing breast cancer.

Monday 9 August, 2021, was a regular day on the farm. One of the family dogs had gone missing and Dale and Georgia had ridden around on a quad bike until it was found. The firewood was stacked, and that evening the family sat down to dinner with David Borg, Mark's lifelong friend who lived with them. 

Mark had cooked, as he often did, but Dale seemed to be off her food and told her daughter she wasn't feeling well. After watching TV, the household went to bed.

At about 10pm, David was woken by a loud bang which was followed by a pounding on his bedroom door. It was Dale. "I've shot him," she shouted. "I was going to shoot myself but I shot him."

She urged David to call the emergency services, which he did as he ran to rouse. Georgia. Their conversation was recorded, when he connected to the operator.

"Your mum's shot your dad," he told her. Georgia thought David was joking and took the phone from him, only to realise that a dispatcher was at the other end dealing with the emergency.

She began to sob on reaching the house, and screamed when she saw her father lying on the bed with a gunshot wound to his head. "Oh my God," she cried. "Why did you do this?"